ML524205191

Age and sex

Adult Female - 1

Behaviors

Flying

Observation details

Believed to be first East African record and fourth on the African continent. ID noted and confirmed by Adam Scott Kennedy and others quoted below. Sighting was published in Vol. 136 No. 2 of the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club. The bird was photographed in Meru National Park, Kenya (00°12’32”N, 38°03’30”E) during a honeymoon game drive guided by Sammy Kisaine. The bird was observed flying over farmland adjacent to Acacia–Commiphora scrub typical of the region. It was always observed at a distance of at least c.250 m over an approx. one-minute encounter before the bird was lost from view. Being unfamiliar with the species at the time of the sighting, unfortunately detailed notes surrounding the encounter are not available. Dick Forsman (Author, The Raptors of Europe and the Middle East: A Handbook of Field Identification) As you may know, quite a few of the claimed Cresteds seen on migration in the Mid-East and heading for Africa, are in fact hybrids and intergrades between Crested and European Honey-buzzard, and some of the intergrades in particular can be tricky to tell from "good" CHBs. However, in your case I cannot see anything in the bird pointing towards a European, so I think it is safe to regard it a pure Crested. *** Don Turner, Kenya (author, Birds of Kenya & Northern Tanzania) This Honey Buzzard from Meru NP looks really interesting. The id characteristics that you show, they're all 100 per cent diagnostic. *** Brian Finch, Kenya (#1 East Afican birder) The visible sixth primary is so obvious in this individual, that it is difficult to notice the other features, but the bulky tail is also such a prominent feature. The whole impression is more eagle than buzzard-like. I can't personally see anything in the image that raises any doubt of it being a CHB, please follow up. *** Itai Shanni, Isreal (top Israeli birder with experience of the CHB in Israel) I agree with you and Brian and in fact I'm quite confident with it's being CHB - wing formula, underwing pattern, under-tail pattern which implies Female and general shape of course. From my experience with the species ... there won't be any problem here. *** Nik Borrow, UK (author, Birds of West Africa, leader for Birdquest) It does indeed look good for Crested (Oriental) Honey Buzzard.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 6D

Lens

EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4x III

ISO

800

Focal length

700 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1600 sec

Dimensions

800 pixels x 640 pixels

Original file size

184.1 KB